Reporter's Diary

Press, 2 September 1980, Page 2

Reporter's Diary

Family reunion THE TEN surviving children of the McSherry family of Christchurch think they may have a claim to an entry in the “Guinness Book of . Records.” A few weeks ago they were all together for a family reunion, the first time for many'years. They worked out that the combined ages. of. all the “children” was 524 years. Of the 14 children in the one family, seven boys and seven girls, 10 still survive. The oldest at the reunion was Douglas McSherry, aged 82, and the youngest was 64, the “baby” of the family. Four generations were present at the gathering, which brought together about 70 members of the family. Stop smoking? SOME "inner-city residents affected by proposals for a smokeless zone in the heart of Christchurch will. meet to discuss the matter at St Luke’s Hall on September IT. The alternative. of a winter without .an open fire or another winter‘with as much smog as there has been this year will be the main topic -of debate, ;which was sparked off by recent suggestions that the burning of ordi- " nary, wood and coal in open household .fires.,;, be ■

banned in parts of the city. Those attending 7 the meeting will come from the area bounded by Fitzgerald Avenue, Bealey Avenue, Colombo Street, and the Avon River. What a waste! ABOUT three million pints of one of Britain’s better brands of beer may have to be poured down the drain if a four-week dispute at a Birmingham brewery continues much longer. Production and dis; tribution workers at the city’s only large independent brewery, Davenport’s, have walked out over a pay claim; leaving 10,000 barrels of draught settling in cooled tanks. Already, 127 pubs in the district have run out of Davenport’s because of the dispute. The workers are looking for an extra $36 on top of their $240 a week earnings. Happenings IN' RESPONSE to a suggestion that a central register of events ivould be • of value to organisers wishing to avoid a clash of fixtures, the Canterbury - Promotion Council .has decided to set up a “Diary of Events.” which will be " kent at the Christchurch ’ Information Centre. It will : record big events to be .

held in Canterbury up to five years in advance and it will be available for inspection at the Information. Centre, although inquiries for limited information may be made by telephone. So, if you are planning to hold a function in Canterbury involving a lot of people, you should let the Information Centre (telephone 799-629) know about it as soon as you have set a firm date. All in vain FOR FIVE years, Britain’s bellringers had been, looking forward to their big day. The highlight bf their career was to ring out a full peal of 5000 changes on the world’s oldest set of 12 bells at the little parish church at Cirencester in Gloucestershire. Such a feat would have set them apart from the average bellringer who just tolls people to church on Sundays. All went well as they embarked on their t h r e e-hour, 40-minute campanological marathon. Then, halfway through, someone baneed on the church door. Put off their stroke;* the dedicated band of visiting London ringers lost their complicated pattern and the peal was mined. The bellringers’ delight came ,to . a: -discordant end because the unwelcome visitor explained that he was. organising a fair nearby and the public, address . system :

could .not be heard above the clamour from the belfry. The bellringers, went disconsolantly home, their big moment destroyed, and learned only later that the one-man noise abatement campaigner who interrupted them was not what he said he was. A check with the real organisers of the fair later said they knew nothing about the anonymous visitor , and they had not wanted the bells silenced. The vicar, the Rev. John Lewis, was quoted in British newspapers as saying: “to ring a peal of 12 is the .peak of the bellringers’ art. Everyone I have spoken to is appalled. You expect certain standards of behaviour in church.” Wrong number IT IS JUST as well that the Mayor of Riccarton (Mr R. W. J. Harrington) is not flooded with telephone calls at his office every day, because the telephone number given at the Riccarton Borough Council’s letterhead for the Mayor’s business number has * a wrong digit. Consequently, when people want to telephone Mr Harrington during the day at work, they instead dial the number of a borough citizen. She, in turn, patiently gives the caller the right telephone number.